Log Book (april09) 

Ice in Bay of Bulls

This is the home of Steve and his son Steven who live right next to Fort Amhurst. 

This is Cabot Tower.  Right near here the first transatlantic wireless signal was sent.  I always see it and think of Monty Python's the Holy Grail - "Its only a model"

Deb and I gave a talk to the Newfoundland Cruising Club about going north instead of south with a family on a sailboat.  They didn't kick us out afterward. 

Part of the preparation for leaving is checking out the liferaft and safety equipment.

One of the guys from the Ham Radio club, who has become a good friend, owns a Lotus.   A beautiful day happened by that required a test drive.

Jannelle and I out for a spin. 

Bianca's violin teacher (on the left) invited us to a practice rehearsal for a quartet she is in. 

April 19

This is a tunnel dug by miners on Bell Isle to get to their fishing boats. 

This is the beach that the tunnel went to.  This area is called Grebes Nest.

Grebes Nest.  Belle Isle.

March 3

The new survival suits. 

The Ice Operations center in St. John's

Today we visited the Coast Guard ice operations center.  We learned how to better read the ice charts and collected contact data.  We also got to tour an icebreaker.

Its ugly, but it works.  I repaired our marine VHF radio that had quit working earlier in the year.

Instead of running each morning, I have been rowing Halocline (our dingy) out into the North Atlantic Ocean.  Some days it is calm and beautiful.

When we purchased a new stove last year it was 4cm (about 1.5 inches) taller than the old stove.  This required removing a good chunk of the galley and rebuilding the base for the stove.  It only took me 9 hours. 

I helped a friend, Graham, repair his Ham antenna that was damaged over the winter. 

I purchased a few . . . .hundred . . . charts  from an ex-fisherman.  Deb got the wonderful job of sorting them.

My rented office has come in handy. 

Hike to the spout

We took a 12 kilometer hike (almost 8 miles) to go see the spout.  We camped overnight and then hiked another 12 kilometers past the spout to the next road.  The girls each carried a pack and didn't complain a bit. 

Hey all you Americans, just skip Prince Edward Island and come to Newfoundland.

Not one single step of the 12 km was at the same level as the previous step. You were either climbing up or down.  Note the size of pack Jannelle (11 yrs old in front) is carrying. 

Iceberg hiding in the background.

This is the outhouse at the campsite.  You sit at the top of a hill with icebergs in view taking a dump.  Best outhouse I have been to yet.  Great Ventilation. 

The spout is a hole in the rock that a stream runs into.  Wave action from below compresses air below the hole that blows the freshwater back out and then sucks it back in.  It sounds like a giant monster breathing.  Old Faithful in Yosemite - yawn. 

Bianca wearing two layers of rain gear.

Way in the distance about center of picture the spout is, well, it is spouting.

Another iceberg that the girls thought looked like an aeroplane.  This one broke up on shore as we walked by. 

I have been asked to provide a place for people to leave comments about what they see on this site.  I have created a new section for this HERE

We have updated our picture section.  You can see more pictures HERE

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